These are my own tips for cleaning various Antique Camera parts from a collector's perspective. All observations are based on personal experience and opinion.

• Leather. Reattach any loose leather or "fake" leather with quick drying cement (glue). I use "Crazy Glue" made for wood / leather. Note : Crazy Glue is forever, use a 'rubber cement' product if you think you may ever want to remove or "re - reattach" the leather. To clean the leather; if the leather is in decent but worn condition, I would just use a tiny bit of "Armor All" applied with cotton balls. The cotton balls are excellent at cleaning in between the grain of the leather. "Armor All" cleans, polishes and buffs the leather to a natural looking, clean state. It does not look artificial like shoe polish can. Having said that, if the leather is in poor condition, you have two choices. First, is to leave well enough alone and just clean lighty with "Armor All" or a light solution of water and ammonia ( be sure to dry the leather quickly with a hair dryer if you use H20 & ammonia ). Second option, is to use shoe polish (sparingly), "Lexol" (a leather treatment ), or any other leather "dressing." Any one of these remedies may leave the leather with an 'un-natural' appearance, and therefore I would not recommend using them ( unless the leather is really bad ! ).

• Wood Surfaces. As a collector, I would never "restore" any wood surface, only clean it. Because most all wood surfaces had a finish of very durable varnish or laquer, polishing is the normal course of action. If wood is in good shape, use any furniture wood polish ( I like a cream based product ) applied with a cotton cloth. If the wood is dirty, yet varnish still intact, use a very fine steel wool ( 000 grade ) with a wood polish in paste form. The dirt will lift right up. Buff with a cotton cloth for a nice natural shine.

• Brass. Camera brass was also finished with a layer of varnish applied to the surface. If the varnish is still intact, use only mild soap and water to clean surface. Collectors would rather see 'patina' on the brass, as that is its natural state. Soap and water will clean, while leaving the patina. If the lens is badly tarnished and the varnish layer is gone ( varnished brass is more gold in color; pure brass is more shiny yellow ), use very fine steel wool with 3:1 ratio of water to ammonia to clean the surface. You may also wish to use "Brasso," a common brass cleaner, applied with a cotton cloth or steel wool. Be sure to use the finest steel wool possible as you could leave swirl marks in the brass. Please remember that although brass looks great all shiny and clean, collectors would much rather see the brass in its natural aged appearence.

• Bellows. For leather or plastic black bellows, using a cloth or cotton balls/Q-Tips and 3:1 water / ammonia solution, makes them look new again. Make sure to dry the bellows immediately after cleaning with a blow dryer. Do not let them remain wet or even moist - it will leave stains. I also like to use cotton balls rather than a cloth. If the bellows are RED or any cloth-like or silky material, be very careful using this procedure. Some bellows react to cleaning with any liquid solution and WILL stain, turn dark red, or the dye will come right off. USE CAUTION. When in doubt, dont clean them - just blow any dust off and wipe with a soft paintbrush! If the bellows are any other color ( brown, blue, green, grey etc ), I would not clean at all. These bellows ( especially fromKodak ), are usually much more fragile, and may be damaged by any cleaning.

Although you may all have your own recipe to care for your cameras, I hope these simple tips help the beginning collector. Remember: A "restored" camera is almost always worth less than a clean, original, un-restored camera.

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